Attorney says Martin was harassed by teammates

The abuse went far beyond the traditional locker room hazing, including a malicious physical attack and daily vulgar comments, attorney David Cornwell said Thursday. He was hired this week to represent Martin, who left the Dolphins last week.

The NFL is investigating whether Incognito harassed or bullied Martin, and whether their teammates and the organization mishandled the matter.

Incognito has long been regarded as among the NFL’s dirtiest players, and has had brushes with the law. A police report that surfaced Thursday said a female volunteer at a Dolphins charity golf tournament in May 2012 complained that Incognito harassed her. According to the report filed in the Miami suburb of Aventura, the woman said Incognito touched her inappropriately with his golf club, leaned close to her as if dancing and then emptied bottled water in her face.

Cornwell is a lawyer who has represented the NFL and several prominent players, including Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He also was a candidate in 2009 to become executive director of the NFLPA, a job that went to DeMaurice Smith.

Cornwell’s statement alleges an unidentified Dolphins player threatened Martin’s sister in vulgar fashion. The attorney said the facts “are not in dispute.”

“For the entire season and a half that he was with the Dolphins, he attempted to befriend the same teammates who subjected him to the abuse with the hope that doing so would end the harassment,” the statement said. “This is a textbook reaction of victims of bullying. Despite these efforts, the taunting continued. …

“Eventually, Jonathan made a difficult choice. Despite his love for football, Jonathan left the Dolphins. Jonathan looks forward to getting back to playing football. In the meantime, he will cooperate fully with the NFL investigation.”

Some say Martin, a Stanford graduate who went about his business quietly, handled the situation well. But pro football is a macho world, and some players believe Martin should have responded more firmly.

“But at the same time, Jonathan Martin is a 6-4, 320-pound man. I mean, at some point and time you need to stand your ground as an individual. Am I saying go attack, go fight him? No. I think we all understand we can stand our ground without anything being physical.”